This invention relates generally to liquid filtration device assemblies, and more particularly, to a filter element assembly that improves the sealing of the filter device.
Various apparatuses and methods have been utilized for removing suspended contaminants from a flowing fluid. In general, the contaminated fluid is passed through a porous filtering media by an external pressure or an external force. The pore size of the porous filtering media is selected to permit the passage of the fluid therethrough while inhibiting the flow of contaminants through the porous filtering media. The contaminants are blocked by the porous filter media while the fluid passes through the porous filter media.
After a period of time, the contaminants collected by the filter media overlay the pores of the porous filter media thereby blocking the pores and reducing the passage of the fluid through the filter media. The blockage of the pores of the filter media by the collected contaminants reduce the flow rate of the fluid through the fluid filter thereby rendering the fluid filter undesirable for further use. In many cases, the fluid filter is discarded and replaced with a new fluid filter to reestablish the desired flow rate of the fluid in the fluid filtering process.
In a typical candle filter, a porous filter media is secured to a filter support or the like for mounting or suspending the filter media. In the case of a cylindrical filter, the filter media is formed into a cylindrical configuration and a first and a second cylindrical end of the filter media is bonded to a respective first and a second filter mounting member such as a first and a second end cap. The first and second end caps mount the filter media relative to a fluid input source and a fluid output source.
In many cases, a welding process is used for affixing the first and second cylindrical ends of the filter media to the first and second end caps. The welding process is accomplished by first placing the filter media on a supporting core. The first and second cylindrical ends of the filter media are swaged to compact the filter media onto an underlying supporting core. A first and a second welding ring are welded to the compacted first and second ends of the filter media. Finally, the first and second end caps are welded to the first and second welding rings. The compacting and welding of the first and second cylindrical ends of the filter media essentially destroyed all filtering capability of the filter media near the compacted ends of the filter media.
Known candle filter element assemblies also use clamps to affix the candle filter media onto piping header and/or support core. These clamps are typically made from metals and are subject to chemical attack, mechanical wear, and damage from adjacent clamps. Also, the clamps can damage the filter media by cutting into the filter media surface or scratching adjacent filter media. Also, the amount of time required to assemble the complete filtering device using known clamps is high resulting in high expenses, and can only occur with the filtering device off-line, again incurring added expense.